Gov. Jared Polis believes Colorado's red flag law is a more effective tool than an assault weapons ban, which General Assembly Democrats appear to be pursuing.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders — which allow family members or law enforcement officers to petition a court to removing firearms from a person who poses an imminent threat to themselves or others — were central to Polis' public safety messaging in Tuesday State of the State address.

The governor kicked off his second term in part by calling on the legislature to beef up the state's red flag law, which lawmakers passed in 2019 and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

"Right now, loved ones and local law enforcement have the ability to pursue an extreme risk protection order. But why not expand this to include additional petitioners, like district attorneys?" he said in the address.

But when asked by reporters about a draft bill from three legislative Democrats seeking to ban the purchase of what the drafters describe as "assault weapons," the governor demurred.

"I haven't seen anything like that," Polis said. "There's many proposals that you and I wouldn't know any more about than what we've heard being discussed.

"We specifically, looking at the data, believe that extreme risk protection orders can work better."

Asked to contrast that stance with a 2018 bill he co-sponsored while in Congress titled "Assault Weapons Ban of 2018," Polis said federal action on guns was needed first, noting: " There's limits to what...

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